"Relating to BAE Systems, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland confirms having opened its own investigation into possible money laundering," the federal prosecutor's office in Bern told The Guardian newspaper.

Prosecutors did not disclose the scope of the investigation, but said it followed a report from the Swiss money laundering investigative authority, MROS.

The report details the latest in a series of corruption allegations to hit BAE in recent months, with Britain's anti-corruption watchdog the Serious Fraud Office investigating the company's activities in the Czech Republic, Romania, Chile, Qatar, South Africa and Tanzania.

BAE told The Guardian that it was not aware of the Swiss decision, saying it had a strict ethical policy and "will not tolerate bribery."